Kraken expands yacht production to Europe

Kraken Yachts Ltd has entered into a joint venture with SU Marine Yachts in Turkey to cater for increased interest from cruising sailors based in Europe and on the East Coast of America.

SU Marine, which has a state of the art yacht building facility, is based in Tuzla near Istanbul, a city at the crossroads of east and west on the shores of the Marmara Sea and the Bosporus, where ship-building has taken place since the sailors of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires needed to get afloat.

For all sailors who aspire to sail around the world, the Mediterranean Sea is a very desirable location from which to start their adventure. Not only is the Med itself a prime destination, but once the one million square miles of water and the 21 different nations which border it, have been explored, Gibraltar is the ideal starting point for a world cruise, using the Atlantic trade wind routes to the Caribbean, and then onwards to the Pacific via the Panama Canal.

With those trade winds in mind, Kraken Yachts can also offer its new owners a very cost-effective crewed yacht delivery service from Turkey to the USA Eastern seaboard.

Dick Beaumont, Chairman of Kraken Yachts, says: “I am delighted we are starting production in the Med as I know from experience, it is a great place to begin a cruising adventure and familiarise yourself with your new yacht and its characteristics before roaming further across the oceans. The winds are generally lighter than the open ocean; the area is culturally friendly and much of the coastlines waters are well protected.”

SU Marine

Tim Grunberg, MD of SU Marine, says: “Kraken seems to have found a sweet spot since there are very few manufacturers building for the blue water cruising market now. I haven’t seen many cruisers that one would feel comfortable/or confident in taking the entire family for long voyages, especially off-shore. There are a number of features that are unique, such as the ZERO keel, which truly impressed me and made me think, ‘How come no one else thought about this?’

The level of comfort and amenities offered on a Kraken are extremely well thought out. When Dick Beaumont spent time with me on ‘White Dragon’, the Kraken 66 flagship, I was amazed at how much thought, design time and detail had gone into the development of the galley alone in order to make it properly laid out and practical for use at sea, in all conditions. That is when you realise that having the design developed by someone who is an active and experienced sailor, such as Dick, is not a nice to have addition, but a must have.”

Turkey is famed for its boat-building skills, such as carpentry and stainless-steel fabrication, skills that have all but disappeared in mainstream yacht building today. The country ‘abounds’ with naval architects, naval engineers, interior designers and mechanical engineers and craftsmen, Tim added. Istanbul and more specifically Tuzla is a very convenient location for clients with easy sea/land/air access. The airport is just a 10 minute drive from the yard.

The Kraken head office will also relocate to Turkey from Hong Kong and will be based at the yacht building facility.

Kraken Yachts are also soon to open a UK sales office in Ipswich, Suffolk, heart of the East Anglian sailing world.